Introduction to Computer

Networks

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 Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to do
the following:
• Explain Networking
• Differentiate Types of Networks
• Identify Network Devices
• Explain Network Topologies

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 Introduction
• A group of two or more similar things or people
interconnected with each other is called network.
Some of the examples of network in our everyday life
include:
– Social network
– Mobile network
– Network of computers
– Airlines, railway, banks, hospitals networks.

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 Computer Networking
• A computer network is an interconnection among
two or more computers or computing devices.
• Such interconnection allows computers to share data
and resources among each other.
• A computer network can include different types of
hosts (also called nodes) like server, desktop, laptop,
cellular phones.

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 Types of Networks
• Based on the geographical area covered and data
transfer rate, computer networks are broadly
categorised as:
– LAN (Local Area Network)
– MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)
– WAN (Wide Area Network)

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 Local Area Network (LAN)
• It is a network that connects computers, mobile
phones, tablet, mouse, printer, etc., placed at a
limited distance.
• The geographical area covered by a LAN can range
from a single room, a floor, an office having one or
more buildings in the same premise, laboratory, a
school, college, or university campus.
• The connectivity is done by means of wires, Ethernet
cables, fibre optics, or Wi-Fi.

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 Local Area Network (LAN)
• LAN provide the short range communication with the
high speed data transfer rates.
• Data transfer in LAN is quite high, and usually varies
from 10 Mbps (called Ethernet) to 1000 Mbps (called
Gigabit Ethernet). These types of networks can be
extended up to 1 km.

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Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is an extended
form of LAN which covers a larger geographical area
like a city or a town.
• Data transfer rate in MAN also ranges in Mbps, but it
is considerably less as compared to LAN.
• Cable TV network or cable based broadband internet
services are examples of MAN.

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Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
• This kind of network can be extended up to 30–40
km. Sometimes, many LANs are connected together
to form MAN.

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 Wide Area Network (WAN)
• Wide Area Network (WAN) connects computers and
others LANs and MANs, which are spread across
different geographical locations of a country or in
different countries or continents.

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 Wide Area Network (WAN)
• A WAN could be formed by connecting a LAN to
other LANs via wired or wireless media. Large
business, educational and government organisations
connect their different branches in different
locations across the world through WAN.
• The Internet is the largest WAN that connects billions
of computers, smart phones and millions of LANs
from different continents.

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 Network Devices
• To communicate data through different transmission
media and to configure networks with different
functionality, we require different devices like:
– Modem
– Hub
– Switch
– Repeater
– Router
– Gateway

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 Modem
• It refers to a device used for conversion between analog signals and
digital bits.

• The modem at the sender’s end acts as a modulator that converts

the digital data into analog signals. The modem at the receiver’s
end acts as a demodulator that converts the analog signals into
digital data for the destination node to understand.

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 Ethernet Card
• Ethernet card, also known as Network Interface Card
(NIC) is a network adaptor used to set up a wired
network.
• It acts as an interface between computer and the
network.
• Ethernet cards can support data transfer between 10
Mbps and 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps).
• Each NIC has a MAC address.

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 Repeater
• A repeater is an analog device that works with
signals on the cables to which it is connected.
• The weakened signal appearing on the cable is
regenerated and put back on the cable by a repeater.

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 Hub
• An Ethernet hub is a network device used to connect
different devices through wires.
• Data arriving on any of the lines are sent out on all
the others. The limitation of hub is that if data from
two devices come at the same time, they will collide.

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 Switch
• A switch is a networking device that plays a central
role in a Local Area Network (LAN).
• Similar to a hub, a network switch is used to connect
multiple computers or communicating devices.
• It can forward multiple packets at the same time.

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 Router
• A router is a network device that can receive the
data, analyse it and transmit it to other networks.
• A router connects a local area network to the
internet.
• Compared to a hub or a switch, a router has
advanced capabilities as it can analyse the data being
carried over a network, decide or alter how it is
packaged, and send it to another network of a
different type.

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 Gateway

• Is a key access point that acts as a “gate” between an

organisation's network and the outside world of the
Internet.
• Gateway serves as the entry and exit point of a
network.

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 Difference between
• Modem and Router: The main difference
between a modem and a router is that
a modem connects you to the Internet and
a router distributes the Internet connection to your
devices. A router does not connect you to the
Internet by itself.

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 Difference between
• Repeater:-
– The repeater is used to link the LAN segments.
– A repeater fronts any packet that has no sporting ability.
– Repeaters don't recognize frames, files, or headers. They recognize the signs
that represent bits like voltage.
– There are analog devices that use signals on the wires to whom they are
attached.
• Router:-
– Routers are machines that link to two or more networks.
– They are made up of a mixture of hardware and software.
– The network address helps routers to determine the best route to a computer
or a device.
– Routers use the conceptual and practical address to link two or more
technically different networks.

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 Difference between
Hub Switch
Hub main objective is to transmit the Switch enables connection setting and
signal to port to respond where the signal terminating based on need.
was received.
Hub uses broadcast type transmission. Switch uses unicast, multicast as well as
broadcast type transmission.
Hub can have maximum 4 ports. Switch can have 24 to 28 ports.
Hub has a single collision domain. In Switch, each port have their own
collision domain.
Hub do not provide packet filtering. Switch provides packet filtering.

Hub uses half duplex transmission mode. Switch uses full duplex transmission
mode.

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 Difference Between
MAC Address IP Address
MAC Address stands for Media Access IP Address stands for Internet Protocol
Control Address. Address.
MAC Address ensure that physical IP Address is a logical address of the
address of the computer is unique. computer and is used to uniquely
locate computer connected via a
network.
MAC Address is of six byte IP Address is of 4 bytes or of 16 bytes.
hexadecimal address.
MAC Address can be retrieved using IP Address can be retrieved using RARP
ARP protocol. protocol.
Chip maker manufacturer provides the Internet Service Provider, ISP provides
MAC Address. the IP Address.

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 Networking Topologies
• The arrangement of computers and other peripherals
in a network is called its topology.
• Common network topologies are:
– Mesh
– Ring
– Bus
– Star
– Tree.

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 Mesh Topology
• Each communicating device is connected with every
other device in the network
• Can handle large amounts of traffic since multiple
nodes can transmit data simultaneously.
• Networks is more reliable and secure as compared to
other topologies because each cable between two
nodes carries different data.

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 Ring Topology
• Each node is connected to two other devices.
• The nodes connected with each other thus form a
ring.
• Data travels from node to node, with each node
along the way handling every packet.
• Rings can be unidirectional, with all traffic travelling
either clockwise or anticlockwise

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 Bus Topology
• All the nodes are connected to a single cable.
• The cable to which the nodes connect is called a
"backbone“ or “bus”.
• Data sent from a node are passed on to the bus and
hence are transmitted to the length of the bus in
both directions.
• Both ring and bus topologies are considered to be
less secure and less reliable.

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 Star Topology
• In star topology all nodes are individually connected
to a central connection point, like a hub or a switch.
• A star takes more cable than e.g. a bus, but the
benefit is that if a cable fails, only one node will be
brought down.

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 Tree or Hybrid Topology
• A hybrid topology is a type of network topology that
uses two or more differing network topologies.
These topologies can include a mix of bus topology,
mesh topology, ring topology, star topology, and tree
topology.
• Such topologies are usually realised in WANs where
multiple LANs are connected.

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 Internet
• The Internet is the global network of computing
devices including desktop, laptop, servers, tablets,
mobile phones, other handheld devices as well as
peripheral devices such as printers, scanners, etc.
• It also consists of networking devices such as routers,
switches, gateways, etc.

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 Applications of Internet
• Broad areas or services provided through Internet:
– The World Wide Web (WWW)
– Electronic mail (Email)
– Chat
– Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

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 The World Wide Web (WWW)
• Sir Tim Berners-Lee — a British computer scientist
invented the revolutionary World Wide Web in 1990
by defining three fundamental technologies that lead
to creation of web:
– HTML
– URI
– HTTP

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 HTML
• HTML — HyperText Markup Language or HTML is a
language which is used to design standardised Web
Pages so that the Web contents can be read and
understood from any computer across the globe. It
uses tags to define the way page content should be
displayed by the web browser. Basic structure of
every webpage is designed using HTML.

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 URI
• URI — Uniform Resource Identifier or URI is a unique
identifier to identify a resource located on the web.
Examples of URI identifying resources using location
(i.e., URL) are: https://www.mhrd.gov. in,
http://www.ncert.nic.in , http://www.airindia.in ,
etc. URL is sometimes also called a web address.

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 HTTP
• HTTP — The HyperText Transfer Protocol is a set of
rules which is used to retrieve linked web pages
across the web. It’s more secure and advanced
version is HTTPS.
• WWW today gives users access to a vast collection of
information created and shared by people across the
world. It is today the most popular information
retrieval system.

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 Electronic Mail (Email)
• Email is the short form of electronic mail. It is one of
the ways of sending and receiving message(s) using
the Internet.
• To use email service, one needs to register with an
email service provider by creating a mail account.
• Popular email service providers:
– Google (gmail),
– Yahoo (yahoo mail),
– Microsoft (outlook), etc.

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 Electronic Mail (Email)
• Common facilities available for an email user:
– Creating an email, attaching files with an email, saving an
email as draft for mailing later. Creating email is also
termed as composing.
– Sending and receiving mail. Same email can be sent to
multiple email addresses, simultaneously.
– Sending the copy of mail, as carbon copy (cc) or blind
carbon copy (bcc).
– Forwarding a received email to other user(s)

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 Electronic Mail (Email)
– Organising email in folders and sub folders
– Creating and managing email ids of the people you know.
– Setting signature/footer to be inserted automatically at the
end of each email
– Printing emails using a printer or saving as files.
– Searching emails using email address or email subject text

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 Chat
• Chatting or Instant Messaging (IM) over the Internet means
communicating to people at different geographic locations in
real time through text message(s).
• With ever increasing internet speed, it is now possible to send
image, document, audio, video as well through instant
messengers.
• Applications such as WhatsApp, Slack, Skype, Yahoo
Messenger, Google Talk, Facebook Messenger, Google
Hangout, etc., are examples of instant messengers.

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 VoIP
• Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP, allows us to
have voice call (telephone service) over the Internet,
i.e., the voice transmission over a computer network
rather than through the regular telephone network.
• VoIP works on the simple principle of converting the
analogue voice signals into digital and then
transmitting them over the broadband line.

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 VoIP
• There are two major advantages of a VoIP:
– These services are either free or very economical, so
people use them to save on cost.
– VoIP call(s) can be received and made using IP phones
from any place having Internet access.

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 Website
• A website in general contains information organised
in multiple pages about an organisation. A website
can also be created for a particular purpose, theme
or to provide a service.
• A website (usually referred to as a site in short) is a
collection of web pages related through hyperlinks,
and saved on a web server.

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 Usage of Website
• A website’s purpose is to make the information available
to people at large.
• A website is a means that helps to communicate with
people in a specific, transparent and user friendly
manner.
• Website are designed for
– Selling products and delivering services
– Posting and finding information on the internet
– Communicating with each other
– Entertainment purposes
– Disseminating contents and software

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 Web Page
• A web page (also referred to as a page) is a document on
the WWW that is viewed in a web browser.
• A web page is usually a part of a website and may
contain information in different forms, such as:
– text in the form of paragraphs, lists, tables, etc.
– Images
– Audio
– Video
– software application
– other interactive contents

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 Static and Dynamic Web Pages
• A static webpage is one whose content always remains
static, i.e., does not change for person to person.
• Static web pages are generally written in HTML,
JavaScript and/or CSS and have the extension .htm or
.html.

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 Static and Dynamic Web Pages
• Dynamic web page is one in which the content of the
web page can be different for different users.
• Dynamic web pages can be created using various
languages such as JavaScript, PHP, ASP.NET, Python, Java,
Ruby, etc.

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 Web Server
• Dynamic web page is one in which the content of the
web page can be different for different users.
• A web server is used to store and deliver the contents of
a website to clients such as a browser that request it. A
web server can be software or hardware.

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 Key Points
• A group of two or more similar things or people interconnected with each
other is called network
• A computer network is an interconnection among two or more computers
to share data and resources.
• Devices in a network can be connected either through wired or wireless
media.
• Based on the geographical area covered and data transfer rate, computer
networks are broadly categorised as LAN, MAN and WAN.
• The protocol or the set of rules that decide functioning of a LAN is called
Ethernet.
• Local Area Network (LAN) is a network that connects digital devices placed
at a limited distance of upto 1 km.
• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is an extended form of LAN which
covers a larger geographical area like a city or a town.

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 Key Points
• Wide Area Network (WAN) connects computers and other LANs and
MANs, which are spread across different geographical locations of a
country or in different countries or continents.
• A repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak signal and
regenerates it.
• Modem (MOdulator DEMolulator) refers to any such device used for
conversion between analog signals and digital bits.
• A hub is a network device used to connect multiple devices to form a
network or to connect segment(s) of LAN.
• A switch is a networking device that filters network traffic while
connecting multiple computers or communicating devices.
• A router is a network device that can receive the data, analyse it and
transmit to other networks.

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 Key Points
• A gateway is a device that connects the organisation’s network with the
outside world of the Internet.
• The physical organisation of computers, cables and other peripherals in a
network is called its topology. Common network topologies are Bus, Star,
Tree, Mesh, etc.
• In bus topology, each communicating device connects to a common
central transmission medium, known as bus.
• In star topology, each communicating device is connected to a central
node, which is a networking device like a hub or a switch, through
separate cables.
• In tree topology, multiple star and bus topologies are connected to a
central cable, also called the backbone of the network.
• In mesh topology, each communicating device is connected with every
other device in the network.

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 Key Points
• The Internet is the largest WAN that connects millions of computers across
the globe.
• Some of the services provided through the Internet are information
sharing, communication, data transfer, social networking, e-commerce,
etc.
• A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a standard naming convention used
for accessing resources over the Internet.
• Electronic mail is a means of sending and receiving message(s) through
the Internet.
• Chatting is communicating in real time using text message(s).
• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows you to have voice calls over
digital networks.
• A website is a collection of related web pages.

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 Key Points
• A web page is a document that is viewed in a web browser such as Google
Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, etc. It can be static or
dynamic.
• A static web page is one whose content does not change for requests
made by different people.
• A dynamic web page is one in which the content of the web page
displayed is different for different users.
• A web server is a program or a computer that provides services to other
programs or computers called clients.
• Web hosting is a service that allows you to post the website created locally
so that it is available for all internet users across the globe.
• Every browser has got certain settings that define the manner in which the
browser will behave. These settings may be with respect to privacy, search
engine preferences, download options, auto signature, autofill and
autocomplete feature and much more.

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 Key Points
• Add-ons and plug-ins are the tools that help to extend and modify the
functionality of the browser.
• A cookie is a text file containing a string of information which stores
browsing information on the hard disk of your computer.

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